Mammogram while breastfeeding?

[HappyMommy2]

Has anyone gotten a mammogram while bf'ing?  My baby is 3 months.  My mom was just diagnosed with breast cancer.  I'm 38.

I don't want to wait 2-3 years to get tested ... and what if I had another baby???  I don't want to wait 5-6 years to geta mammogram!

I did a little googling, and it said feed the baby first to empty the breast.  

But the docs I just called were totally stumped.

Help!

[zinemama]

Yes, I have. No big deal at all.

The only thing is, don't be freaked out next year when you have your next mammogram. They will very likely call you in for a repeat because of "changes" between this one and the newest one. It's only normal that your breasts will have changed over a year into bf - for one thing you probably won't be breastfeeding as often as you are now.

Best of luck, and to your mom, too.

[beebalmmama]

Yes, I have. Although I was bfing an older toddler at the time so I'm not sure how much that changes things. I ended up having a mammogram and an ultrasound. I was only 30 at the time but my mother died from breast cancer and I had a cyst removed (although benign) when I was 23. I went in because I had some knotty feeling tissue, but it turned out to be a reoccuring plugged duct.

Maybe ask about an ultrasound as well.

[emilysmama]

I did as well, and it was fine.  My dd was 6 months old, and the mammogram was used to diagnose an abcess due to mastitis, I think.  I was working full time, so my dd was in daycare when I went for the mammogram.  I brought my pump, and they gave me a room to pump right before the mammogram so that I could try to empty the breast of milke.  In spite of fears that the milk would not allow a clear image, the imaging was fine.

Your physician is the wrong person to ask about this because they know nothing.  Call the place that you will be having the mammogram (breast imaging center), and ask your questions.